LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Wrecked and abandoned cars are hard to miss in downtown Louisville, but the city says it’s doing more to pull them off the street.
The first in-person Louisville Metro Police Department car auction in months was a wet one on Wednesday, but that didn’t stop dozens of people showing up to bid on about 70 cars and trucks.
For more than a year, the auctions have been happening online only.
“Sometimes you can get a good deal, sometimes you can’t,” Ivan Ramos told Spectrum News 1.
Ramos says there’d be even more bidders had the weather been nicer.
“If it was 80 degrees out here, right now, there’d be 250-some people here right now and only 80 vehicles,” Ramos explained.
James Lone has been to similar auctions across the river in New Albany, but this is his first LMPD-run auction. Lone has his eye on two vehicles.
“I’m going to bid on the F-150 there and the Toyota Corolla and that’s about it,” he said.
LMPD reports it has 1,200 in impound, but only about 70 were up for auction on Wednesday.
The city is making room ahead of Thunder Over Louisville and the Kentucky Derby while addressing a city-wide problem at the same time: Abandoned cars.
“Yes, they tow a lot and there is still a bunch sitting on the road,” another bidder said.
An LMPD release says the department is towing approximately 30 cars a day and is revamping how it takes in cars, has them retrieved by owners and how they are auctioned off.
In January, Mayor Greg Fischer signed an amnesty ordinance allowing nearly 90 car owners to retrieve their vehicle while waiving the storage fee as an attempt to free up more space at the impound.
LMPD has also announced plans for a new auction lot located off 7th Street Road in Louisville.